


Illumination

by somnolentblue



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-08
Updated: 2010-07-08
Packaged: 2017-10-10 10:50:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/98929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somnolentblue/pseuds/somnolentblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Mary dies, John records his love of his family on his body.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Illumination

**Author's Note:**

> Written in response to [](http://later-tuesday.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**later_tuesday**](http://later-tuesday.dreamwidth.org/)'s prompt "Five tattoos [name] has."  
> Content notes/warnings in the end note.

**1\. MCW 1954-1983 (right arm, up by his shoulder)**

The artist had asked him what kind of lettering he wanted and had the courtesy not to inquire further.

**2\. Anti-possession tattoo (chest, above his heart)**

As soon as he figured out that demons might be after his boy, he knew that he didn't want to be the instrument of his sons' destruction. Bobby Singer had told him there was a way to prevent possession, although most hunters didn't bother since demons were so rare. Usually, if someone saw demonsign, they called in the Cleary sisters or Jim Murphy. Only two artists in the lower 48 could ink it on; their time was scarce, and their prices weren't cheap.

John didn't realize that it would work against run of the mill demons but do jack fucking shit against a fallen angel and his tricks.

**3\. Michael slaying the dragon (back, right shoulder blade)**

He hadn't anticipated getting a tattoo without a functional purpose, but the idea of Michael sang to him. Dragon slayer, demon slayer, warrior - as he found out more and more about the monsters that were out there, as he slowly peeled away information about his son, the idea of Michael settled into his head and would not leave. The tattoo wasn't pretty - it had barely healed up before a fucking wyvern clawed him up and marred it - but he figured that was all right. The Michael wasn't to show off or flaunt; it was his, for him, to guide him through the darkness.

**4\. Slice of cherry pie (back, left shoulder blade)**

Dean loved pie, and John was tired of the darkness in his world. After telling Ellen Harvelle that her husband was dead and getting banned from her sight, he bonded with some very accommodating tequila in a nearby bar. The next day, tired, sore, and a bit hungover, he made his way to a local tattoo parlor. He emerged with a vividly colored slice of cherry pie on his back. The artist, seeing the damaged Michael tattoo, his scars, and the bandage around his left arm, asked him if he was sure he wanted it; when he affirmed his desire, she took him back to her station and went to work.

Dean laughed, a bit, the first time he saw it, and John gruffly told him to respect his elders; however, John smiled at the happiness in his son's eyes.

**5\. Red "S" (back, about the middle)**

Sam went off to Stanford, and John was simultaneously so proud he could burst and wanted to kill the little fucker. He went around, occasionally, to see how Sam was settling in, check the wards Sam had placed on his dorm room, and add some protections of his own. He'd caught Dean doing the same thing once, but they didn't talk about it. After his third trip out, he made an appointment with Bren, the girl who'd done his pie.

She wasn't a hunter, but enough had come through her doors in the intervening years that she didn't question the origins of people's scars or the odd work that they might want done. Together, they worked out a plan for a full back piece that would include blessings and protections woven into its design. However, John was adamant that he wanted to start with the Stanford S.

Then it all went to hell, and the back piece was never finished.

**Author's Note:**

> Canonical character death occurs off-screen


End file.
